The reconstruction of the Sumda chung is difficulte according to the changes of the building form during repairworks in the past. In the case of this temple the goal of the 3D-model was to visualize the original form of the building and to give an idea of its original, architectural lay-out.
Though the investigation of remains of older structures were done with extreme caution, this reconstruction does not show, what the Sumda chung had looked like before the land slides, but what it might had looked like most likely.The model is an assumption based on the facts and conclusions drawn from analysis of the survey.
Fact is, that the side niches do not belong to the original form, neither does the roof of the veranda, though at least one of the columns seems to be original. From this facts and from some remains of older beams, which are on a higher level than the roof now, one might draw the conclusion, that the original veranda roof was of a similar construction as the roofs of the bCu-gcig-zhal in Wanla and the gSum-brtseg in Alchi.The section shows the building methode, based on the combination of a wooden skeleton and massive walls from stone and clay.The cella is a rectangulare room with excellent drawings from the 11th Century.
The architectural structure is based on the typical combination of stone walls and wooden beams and coloumns for the roof. We can see four columns and lion consoles in the stonewalls supporting two beams, which is very similar to the architectural details of bCu-gcig-zhal in wanla.

Text: Christian Luczanits
Fotos: Heinrich Pöll / Christian Luczanits